New to Biking and have a stupid question.

Hi, I'm currently stationed in South Korea with the U.S.A.F. I needed a mode of transportation so I bought a Lespo Moto-GS 20" Folding bike from a nearby shop. I bought the bike for around $120.00US and upgraded the tires to Dahon Roulez road tires. After a 15 Kilometer ride I was cleaning my bike and noticed the rear tire was installed backwards. Is this a huge thing or should I just shut up and ride it? The shop owner doesn't speak english but I can get my point across if you think he should fix it. Thanks in advance. --Mike

Practically speaking it isn't that big a deal, but he should fix it if it bothers you. Then again, it is the perfect opportunity for you to practice using the tire levers in your flat kit, which I'm sure you got with the bike, right?

Thank You for all your help. I didn't get a flat kit... Everything this shop sells is in korean so, It's a guessing game as to what does what. I'm very bicycle stupid; I haven't owned a bike since I was 10 and it was a Wal-mart bike. I'll definitely see if I can get a flat kit. Are there any other essential items I should pick up while I'm at the shop?

The basics are that you want to be able to fix a flat while you're miles from home. For that you'll need:

Tire levers (the blue things) used to pry the tire off the rim so you can get to the tube inside, and patches (little rubber squares or circles, plus some glue) to fix a leak in a tube.
Or an extra tube instead of the patches.

Small pump or CO2 inflator to fill the tire back up again:

If your bike doesn't have quick releases (little levers) on the axles, you'll need a wrench to take them off. That's usually a 15mm and will probably be cheaper from a hardware store.

Those things plus a little bag to put them in under the seat will usually get you home in one piece.

Last piece of advice: Take a look at that link bendembroski posted, take your back wheel off and turn the tire around for practice so you'll know how to do it if you have to on the side of the road some day. Then have a beer.

For off-road use in soft surfaces, there may be some merit in paying attention to the tread orientation, though this is far from certain.

Ideally, you would like the front tire to offer maximum traction in the braking direction, while the rear tire would normally be oriented to produce maximum traction for drive forces. Thus, if a particular tread pattern is perceived to have better traction in one direction than the other, it should be facing one way if used on the front wheel, and the opposite way if used on the rear wheel.

way2low: If you are new to biking, you really should bookmark, and take a peek at Sheldon's website. http://sheldonbrown.com/ Easily the single most useful site on biking when it comes things mechanical.

Awesome, I'll be sure to get those things right away! I'd hate to be stranded in the middle of Korea with a flat tire and no way home. One last question; If I go with the CO2 cartridges, how do you stop them from over inflating the new tube and bursting it too? I've read that they inflate to 100 or so psi and my wheels need to be no more than 45 to 65 psi. Thank you guys for all the help. I really appreciate it!

I use CO2 carts for my emergency kit. They're small, light, and used only in an emergency (I have my pump at home). Concerning overinflation, etc. I just get the tires taught (using the old tried and true psi gauge: the squeezing right hand!). I just picked up a nice small and cheap (about 4 dollars at target) high psi tire gauge (it goes up to 120). You could carry one of those around. Use the C02 to air up the tire, while frequently checking it with the gauge. Let air out once you go a bit over.

+1 on the practice changing your tubes / patching while in the comfort of your room. Buy some extra tubes. Punch a hole in one, spin it around, and practice setting a patch to it. I personally just carry an extra tube. In a flat tire situation. Pull over. Flip the bike onto its seat. Remove wheel. Use tire levers to open up one side. Pull out flat tube (put into bag to repair later or throw away). Pull out good tube. Put a little air in with C02 (to make it managable). Put back into wheel. Rebead tire. Air with C02 until my hand can't squeeze the tire. Place wheel back on bike. Reflip bike. Ride a bit and check to see if tire is squishing under my weight. If it is, put a little more C02 back in. Ride home, check with gauge at home. Resupply my flat tire kit.

If you field strip all of your stuff down (get rid of boxes, and packaging, etc.), you can fit a lot of stuff into a small bag. Just think of that small bag under your seat as a minature seabag (duffel,kit,ditty,etc-bag) and stuff everything into it that you think you'll need in a flat tire setting.

Does that answer your question? Do you have any more questions?

Originally Posted by way2low

Awesome, I'll be sure to get those things right away! I'd hate to be stranded in the middle of Korea with a flat tire and no way home. One last question; If I go with the CO2 cartridges, how do you stop them from over inflating the new tube and bursting it too? I've read that they inflate to 100 or so psi and my wheels need to be no more than 45 to 65 psi. Thank you guys for all the help. I really appreciate it!